At a glance
Bentley Systems Inc is worth $11.91B, about 46 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 11.0% to $1.50B in fiscal 2025, with 18.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 13.4% a year. It pays a 0.71% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 3 years, and returned $501.4M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −23.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −7.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 42.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 13 months after the low.
The business in plain English
Bentley Systems sells software that engineers use to design, build and operate infrastructure: roads, bridges, rail lines, water and power networks, mines and industrial plants. The Bentley brothers founded it in 1984, and it went public on September 25, 2020. Its products include MicroStation for 3D design, OpenRoads and OpenBridge for transportation projects, ProjectWise for coordinating project teams, and Seequent's Leapfrog for 3D models of underground geology. Its Cesium and iTwin platform, used to build digital twins (cloud-based 3D models of real assets), underpins newer AI features.
Most revenue comes from subscriptions. Of about $1.50 billion in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025, enterprise subscriptions made up 41.5%, term license subscriptions 32.4% and SELECT subscriptions 17.8%. One-time perpetual licenses were just 3.1%. Customers are engineering firms, contractors, government agencies and asset owners. Annualized recurring revenue is the yearly value of ongoing contracts. Of the part that can be tied to a sector, public works and utilities make up about 59%, resources such as mining and oil and gas 27%, industrial 9% and commercial buildings 5%.
Bentley sells in 189 countries, mainly through its own sales force. In fiscal 2025, the Americas supplied 52.6% of revenue; Europe, the Middle East and Africa 29.1%; and Asia-Pacific 18.3%. About 59% of revenue came from outside the US.
Price history
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BSY -23.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Enterprise subscriptions | $623.1M | 41.5% |
| Term license subscriptions | $486.4M | 32.4% |
| SELECT subscriptions | $267.2M | 17.8% |
| Other | $64.2M | 4.3% |
| Perpetual licenses | $46.2M | 3.1% |
| Recurring | $14.7M | 1% |
By geography
| Americas | $790.5M | 52.6% |
| EMEA | $436.8M | 29.1% |
| APAC | $274.5M | 18.3% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $410.7M, up 12.8% from a year earlier, and net income was $78.6M (+11.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.50B (+11.0% year over year; +13.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 18.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +13.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 24.1% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 34.6% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 23.4% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 7.8% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.07B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $801.5M | $126.5M | $241.9M |
| FY2021 | $965.0M | $93.2M | $270.5M |
| FY2022 | $1.10B | $174.8M | $255.8M |
| FY2023 | $1.23B | $326.8M | $391.7M |
| FY2024 | $1.35B | $234.8M | $421.2M |
| FY2025 | $1.50B | $277.9M | $520.2M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $11.91B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 46.4 |
| Dividend yield | 0.71% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSY price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +3.9% | -23.0% | -6.0% | -7.3% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +3.9% |
| 2025 | -17.8% |
| 2024 | -10.1% |
| 2023 | +41.8% |
| 2022 | -23.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 33.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 42.9%, back to its old high 12.6 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 2 sales ($6.2M), 2 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2026 | Raymond B. Bentley Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $5.6M |
| Oct 23, 2026 | Raymond B. Bentley Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $666K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Barry J. Bentley | 62.8% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Bentley Corinne Patricia | 13.2% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 5.4% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Joseph P. Logan | 4.6% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC | 4.4% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in BSY
| KMID Virtus KAR Mid-Cap ETF | 3.12% |
| BULD Pacer BlueStar Engineering the Future ETF | 1.49% |
| IBOT Vaneck Robotics ETF | 1.31% |
| QMID WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Quality Growth Fund | 1.31% |
| QQQJ Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF | 0.85% |
| MAGA Point Bridge America First ETF | 0.7% |
| QDEF FlexShares Quality Dividend Defensive Index Fund | 0.49% |
| QDF FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund | 0.48% |
What could go wrong
- Tied to infrastructure and government spending. Sales depend on spending by public works, utility, mining and industrial customers. Infrastructure projects have long timelines, and budget cuts by governments or companies could mean fewer new sales and subscription renewals.
- The Bentley family controls the vote. A dual-class share structure (two types of stock with different voting rights) concentrates control with the Bentley family and related holders. Outside shareholders have limited influence over the board and major decisions.
- Most revenue comes from outside the US. About 59% of fiscal 2025 revenue came from outside the US, and about 18% from projects in Asia-Pacific, including China. Weaker spending there, tariffs, sanctions or a stronger dollar could hurt results.
- Software errors could bring liability claims. Engineers rely on Bentley's software to design and monitor bridges, dams and plants. Defects, security breaches or mistakes from its AI features could harm its reputation and lead to product or professional liability claims.
- Debt and convertible notes could dilute owners. Total debt was about $1.22 billion as of June 30, 2026, against about $147 million in cash and investments. If the 2027 convertible notes are converted into shares, existing holders' stakes would shrink.
- Acquisitions may not pay off. Bentley grows partly by buying companies, such as Cesium in September 2024. Deals that don't integrate well could hurt results, and impaired goodwill (the premium paid in past acquisitions) could force large write-downs.
Recent events
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Bentley pays a small dividend. Regular dividends rose from $0.12 per share in fiscal 2021 to $0.28 in fiscal 2025, about 23.6% a year, with three straight annual increases. The fiscal 2020 total of $1.62 per share included what appears to be a special dividend. In fiscal 2025 the dividend took about 31% of earnings and 16% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The yield was 0.71% as of October 28, 2026, so most of an investor's return would have to come from share price gains. Buybacks reached $125 million in fiscal 2025.
The shares listed in September 2020, so they have only a short record through downturns. In the 2022 bear market they fell 42.9% from January 3 to May 11, 2022, and regained that peak on May 30, 2023, about 12.6 months later. The worst drop in the year to October 28, 2026 was 45.3%. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Bentley Systems make money?
Bentley Systems makes money mainly by selling subscriptions to its infrastructure engineering software. Of about $1.50 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, enterprise subscriptions supplied 41.5%, term license subscriptions 32.4% and SELECT subscriptions 17.8%. One-time perpetual licenses were just 3.1%. Customers include engineering firms, contractors, government agencies and owners of roads, utilities, mines and plants. Of the recurring revenue that can be tied to a sector, public works and utilities make up about 59% and resources such as mining about 27%.
Is Bentley Systems profitable?
Yes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, Bentley earned about $278 million of net income on about $1.50 billion of revenue, or 18.5 cents of profit per dollar of sales. Revenue grew 11% that year and about 13.4% a year over the five years from fiscal 2020. Free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business) was about $520 million. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue rose 12.8% from a year earlier and net income rose 11.5%.
Does Bentley Systems pay a dividend?
Yes, but it is small. Bentley paid regular dividends of $0.28 per share for fiscal 2025, up from $0.24 in fiscal 2024 and $0.12 in fiscal 2021. That was its third straight annual increase. The yield (yearly dividends divided by share price) was 0.71% as of October 28, 2026. The dividend used about 31% of fiscal 2025 earnings. Bentley also spent about $125 million on share buybacks in fiscal 2025, more than the roughly $85 million it paid in dividends.
Who controls Bentley Systems?
The founding Bentley family controls the vote. A dual-class share structure (two kinds of stock with different voting rights) concentrates voting power with the Bentley Control Group. That group is made up of Bentley family members, their trusts and other permitted transferees, plus all other Class A holders. In Schedule 13G ownership filings, Barry J. Bentley reported 62.8% as of December 31, 2024, and Corinne Patricia Bentley 13.2% as of March 31, 2026. Director Raymond B. Bentley sold about $6.2 million of stock on October 23 and 26, 2026, under preset trading plans.
How has Bentley Systems stock performed?
The shares have fallen over most longer periods. As of October 28, 2026, they were down 23% over one year and about 32% over five years. Calendar-year price returns were -23.3% in 2022, +41.8% in 2023, -10.1% in 2024 and -17.8% in 2025, plus 3.9% in 2026 through October 28. The deepest peak-to-trough drop since listing was 61%. The price-to-earnings ratio (share price divided by earnings per share) was 46.4 on that date, using fiscal 2025 earnings. That is a high level, and it can make declines bigger if growth slows.